Wholesome home-made chicken feed, without sweat, tears, a calculator, or deep pockets.

This could be a phD thesis. You really did your homework, Perris. I'll have to study it to get all the fine points. My chickens thank you; I thank you. Best wishes!

Comprehensive and well presented. Thank you for taking the time to provide this information.

Great article! I have problems with my hens as they stopped laying. I suspected it was the layer feed and searched this up. Great info & I will try this myself

Somebody linked your post to my question. Very grateful for your research. Saved me some time

Just realized it was you

Thank you for your informative article. I've also found that the higher % of commercial feed in my fowls' diet, the punier they become.
Thank you for your research and the links, I've been looking for exactly that kind of material for over 20 years.

This article proves with sources what I already figured out but had no proofs. I used to feed grains to my chickens because that's what my grandmother did. After joining this forum, I was told over and over that seeds were as bad as the devil. So I switched to layer feed because I want the best for my girls. After a few months on layer feed, I noticed the eggs started looking like the grocery store eggs, with thin shell that would pop when boiled, watery white and pale yolk.
I quickly went back to scratch, and I will never feed my chickens industrial food ever again.
I buy all the grains from a local mill, and the cereals are all farmed locally. I live in an area where 50% of the production is rice, so green whole rice is included in the mix of grains (no chicken and no pigeon ever exploded).
I also feed my chickens cow colostrum when available. Chicks love it and it's extremely high in protein.
Even with chickstarter readily available, my broody hen introduced grains to chicks when they were 2 days old: incredibly the chicks could already eat it without problems.

Thank you for sharing!
Although I buy commercial feed, I do add a lot of natural foods, at the moment it's getting expensive because they really pig out 3 times a day. They waste some and the birds dive in an steal some, but they really do eat a lot.
I've got 11 adults, a sick one (still laying) on mash while she recovers, finally eating some solids again. The rest are on solids plus mash twice a day. It's winter so of course, a full tummy is a warm tummy, but 20kg in 6 days is beginning to take its toll on the budget. I'll be visiting our local grain store and talk to them. The owners had it for over 60 years an mixes feeds how We want it.
Have you tried adding Copra to their diet? Most people don't get the mixture right, which can be lethal to all animals. I feed it to my chickens as well as my dogs.
(Must be mixed no less than 1 Cup dry copra (pure - not any derivatives ) to 1.2litre Hot or boiling water..) I've been using it since 1990 when it became more popular for horses here. Best feed ever. 1 cup (swells to 10 x it self) will be enough for 12 chooks per day added to your amazing recipe a 5 kg bag lasts months!

Saved your article, am looking forward to seeing what my crew think of the bonus food

I will definitely be bookmarking this article to refer back to. Thank you for sharing this precious information from your, what must have been, intensive research.

Hello! Thank you @Perris for this! This is real backyard chicken knowledge explained brilliantly. So many people feel this way but never could explain it because of lack of experience. This entire year on backyardchickens is yours! You convinced the change. Cheers to you!

Just what I was looking for! I've been researching more efficient ways to raise chickens, and I stumbled across this thread by accident. Thank you so much for your advice! You are a Godsend.

Wow, very thorough, informative, and well-written! Thank you!

I've also seen the urging of very limited feeding of mealworms in every single article that I've read, attributing it to the high fat and high protein content. When I discovered one of my ladies had severe injuries to both legs from pecking, I thought for certain I was going to lose her. Both legs were literally teal in color and were completely bare with large puncture wounds! I immediately treated her with hydrogen peroxide and triple antibiotic oitment twice a day every day and fed her daily with a big handful of mixed mealworms and BSFL. I was relying on (and hoping) the high protein content to help her heal more quickly, if she was to recover at all. She was completely healed in three days, not one bit of teal skin showing by day 3! I could not believe how quickly she recovered from such terrible wounds. I attribute it mostly to the extra feeding of the mealworms and BSFL. I was so happy, and it was such a relief!

So, yes, I completely agree with you that feeding the invalids (sick/weak) with mealworms is essential for them to regain their health, if at all.

I saw some split peas at the market today and debated mixing it into their salad mix that I make for them several times a week, if not almost daily. After reading your article, I think I will put them into the rotation. Their salad varies depending on what I have growing in the yard and some fresh fruits and vegetables from the market or vegetable scraps from our meals. I grow some things just for them, e.g., fescue, which I was just able to harvest the past couple of days. I've got dandelion I've been growing from seed, but they are not quite ready for harvest yet. I appreciate your listing all the native plants. I try to do the same. I got really lucky and have wild nasturtiums that I occasionally include in their salad. I also sprout lentils and alfalfa for their salad-mix rotation. I've also purchased comfrey just for them. My girls are a bit spoilt!!!

Again, thank you for a great article!

Super informative and very well written!

totally comprehensive about the science of chickens' natural eating instincts and how to meet their needs economically and in a way that is satisfying. So @Perris, I'm guessing retired botanist - ?

Really awesome!! Thank you for suppling new important information, that really opens ,my bird eyes!!
I love the tourogh information, and apprciate the details, and for the pigeon info, I was wondering what to feed our Pigeon, Ruju, and this is SO useful!
I will replace the wheat with a mix of quinoa, spelt and perhaps teff though, for I don't like wheat.

Very thorough and inspiring article. Thank you! You don’t mention how long to ferment, is the time between your evening feeding and next morning feeding enough to ferment the new jar? I’m also curious whether this one jar is sufficient for all 20 of your birds (plus the extras) for the whole day or do you have multiple jars going for each feeding?
Thanks for the great recipe

Wow, this was a really interesting read and it seems you really did your homework as far as research goes. I've been interested in the idea of homemade feed for a while and this is a good resource.

Thank you for an excellent article. I like the detail, with prices, and information on how to put this together. Kudos!

Perris you've done it again! The information you give and the time you dedicate to this is incredible. My 11 chicks have been on a homemade feed since hatching and I 100% agree with everything you are talking about.
-I highly suggest anyone reading this to try out Perris' method. Trust your birds instincts, do not trust the commercial feed industry.
-None of my chicks have ever had pasty butt
-They currently eat a mix of fine cracked corn, barley, sunflower seed and quinoa.
-My chickens do not like lentils, wheat or peas.
-I feed them sardines a few times a month and they go wild for it!
-I throw the birds our extra berries, chopped meat (cooked) and broccoli (there favorite)
-I have played around with my feed recipe and tweaked it based on what my chickens liked and what they left out
-I've let them forage on their own (with me watching closely and standing by lol) since 3 weeks old. Before going outside, I grabbed dirt and mixed a small amount into their food to get their gut used to what they would be eating.
- They eat my feed mix fermented or dry.
-I buy all my ingredients right in my local super market.

Excellent! Enjoyed your research and explanations. As an American I also appreciated your explanation of corn and maize. Thank you for ALL the time and effort out into this article.

Very informative. I feel more confident in feeding my small flock of chickens such a varied diet, along with their free range outings in the garden. I also like the fact I can purchase a lot of ingredients from my store for this, rather than be confined entirely to commercial feed.